About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2022)
ncc The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia December 28, 2022 Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life. - Robin Sharina News BYTES MLK Parade The Annual MLK Pa rade will be held on January 16, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. The Grand Marshall will be Wilson Johnson. For more in formation, contact Mi chael Johnson at 478- 494-8253. Legislative Luncheon State Rep. Leesa Hagan and State Sen. Blake Tillery are con firmed speakers for the Greater Vidalia Cham ber's annual legislative luncheon to be held Thursday, January 5, 1:30 p.m„ at Lyons First Baptist Church. U.S. Representative Rick Al len and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock may also attend. Tickets are $45. For information, call 912-537-4466 or email info@greatervi- daliachamber.com. ttUje Aiiuance IS NOW ONLINE! Get all the local news you need on your computer, smart phone or tablet. L Subscribe i www.theadvancenews.com IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 6A Obituaries Page 8A From the Record Page 5A Your Mind On Line Page 5A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND n Call 537-3131 (or delivery! Editor’s Note: Looking back on the last 12 months reminds us of what we have endured and how much we have accomplished; but more importantly, the experiences of the previous year provide a perspective for moving forward. In this article The Advance revisits some of the headlines which defined the year. By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Area Overview When 2022 dawned, we had just sur vived a COVID pandemic only to see the health threat re-emerge in a new variant. The omicron virus, which succeeded the delta variant, spiked by late January and the area had the highest number of infec tions seen throughout the two years of the entire pandemic. Drive-through testing sites again became a part of the landscape as the virus surged, but the good news was that this strain, while more easily spread, was of shorter duration and considered generally less deadly than previous viruses. By the first of December, however, COVID was begin ning to resurface and masks were again re quired in medical facilities. Despite the post-COVID economic downturns plaguing most of the country, Georgia, which never completely shut down during the pandemic, came through the fray with a sound economy. In fact, the state was doing so well financially that when prices for gasoline began to pinch drivers at the pump, a state surplus enabled the state Legislature to pass a measure temporarily suspend ing the state fuel sales tax which Governor Kemp has extended several times to give motorists a break. Throughout the area, there were signs of growth and prosperity as new projects were underway, including construction of a county courthouse, a regional library, a Please see 2022 page 2A MoCo Commission Approves $1.2M Contract for Sheriffs Office Upgrade By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com The Montgomery County Commission, in its regular ses sion on December 12, awarded a bid and contact to C. Merrill Construction, LLC, of States boro, for the amount of $ 1,2 mil lion for additions and modifica tions to the Sheriff’s Office on East Broad Street in downtown Mount Vernon. The Commission also ap proved transferring $400,000 from the General Fund to the County’s Capital Project Fund to finance Public Safety building projects. In other business, the Com mission adopted a resolution for a USDA Rural Development Loan to purchase a John Deere tractor with a grant amount of $27,400. The Commission ad opted a second resolution for a USDARural Development Loan to finance the tractor with a loan amount of $50,900, to cover the vehicle’s full purchase price. The Commissioners con ducted the first reading of a resolution to amend a section of Please see MoCo page 5A Georgia Power Rate Hike Approved Lyons Roundabout To Begin January 3 ROUNDABOUT PATTERN BEGINS - Beginning on January 3, traffic flow will change af the inter section of NW Broad Street and Oxley Drive to follow the roundabout pattern of the roadway, as construction workers finish building the inside circle of the intersection. Traffic along NW Broad Street (Highway 292) and Oxley Drive in Lyons will see a new pattern of traffic begin ning January 3, as motorists will now travel the roundabout pattern while construction workers finish building the in ner circle of the intersection. According to McLen don Enterprises Representa tive Tim Adams, this change in traffic patterns will allow drivers to get used to the new flow of traffic, while also giv ing the construction workers Please see Lyons page 9A By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service The state Public Service Com mission (PSC) approved a $1.8 bil lion rate increase requested by Geor gia Power Tuesday that embraced most of an agreement between the agency’s staff and the company pre sented last week. Commissioners slightly low ered the upper limit on profits Geor gia Power will be allowed to keep and sweetened incentives to be of fered to encourage the development of solar energy and the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations. But the PSC stopped short of more far-reaching changes proposed by Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” Mc Donald, who provided the lone op position in Tuesday’s 4-1 vote. The $1.8 billion rate hike - down from Georgia Power’s original Please see Rate page 5A
